Chilli time!!!

Rule 71

Winter arrived and I’m feeling like chilli!

I love love love chilli!

There’s no such thing as too much chilli!

It has all of my favourite things! Tomatoes, veggies, beans and sometimes meat!

It’s like someone sat and thought “I should create the perfect dish for Dana...” I’m pretty sure that’s how chilli was created…haha... No but really, don’t you just love it?

It was so good already and then the Mexicans came and put chocolate in it! Also very good!

It’s super healthy if you make it yourself because you add good stuff to it, so how about we’ll just jump to recipes?

Dana’s chilli:

Ingredients

·         8 oz ground beef

·         1 large can tomato sauce

·         1 cup cooked chickpea/1 can black bean

·          Tomato cut small

·         Zucchini/peas/carrot/eggplant cut to small cubes

·         2 cups water

·         1 tbsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.       In a large pot cook the veggies. When soft add the beef and let it cook for 3 min.

2.       Add everything else and bring to boil.

3.       Reduce heat and let it cook for another hour

Ingredients

·         2 cups diced onion (about 1 large)

·         1 cup chopped red bell pepper 

·         1 teaspoon minced garlic

·         1 1/4 pounds ground turkey breast 

·         2 tbsp ancho chilli powder

·         1 tsp unsweetened cocoa

·         1 tsp ground cumin

·         1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

·         2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained

·         2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes

·         2 chipotle chiles

·         2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1.       Heat a pot over medium-high heat with cooking spray.

2.       Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, and turkey to pot; sauté 8 minutes or until turkey is browned and vegetables are tender.

3.       Add everything else besides chocolate bring to a boil.

4.       Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

5.       Add chocolate, stirring to melt.

6.       Eat

Vegan chilli:

Ingredients

·         1 15oz can Kidney beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 15oz can Black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 15oz can Pinto beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 15oz can chickpea, drained and rinsed

·         1 cup frozen corn

·         1 red bell pepper, diced

·         1 green bell pepper, diced

·         1 red onion, diced

·         1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

·         1 cup water

·         5 garlic cloves, minced

·         1 heaping tbsp chilli powder

·         1 tsp cumin

·         1 tsp coriander

·         1/2 tsp garlic powder

·         1/4 tsp (or a bit less) cayenne pepper

·         A couple splashes of soy sauce

·         1/2 tsp regular paprika

Directions

1.        Chop the garlic, onion, and bell peppers. Sauté lightly over medium high heat in 1-2 tsp olive oil. Meanwhile, wash the beans until all of the canning liquid is gone. 

2.       Once the veggies have sautéed for about 5 minutes, add everything else into the pot (tomatoes, beans, spices, etc.). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 min or longer as needed.

3.       Eat

Easy, healthy and tasty! Just the way I like it J

Remember winter is not an excuse to pack on the pounds so keep eating healthy!

Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2014

Zucchini for the rescue

Rule 70

Zucchini.

Wow!

Talking about nature at its best!

You can eat it raw, you can cook it, make soups, quiches and dessert! It’s filling and low in calories! Even more than you think….

It comes in light green, dark green, yellow, straight shapes or round shapes.

Now I’m going to tell you something about myself…for a long time I didn’t have any zucchinis because I thought it was super high in carbs because it’s a squash… well guess what? I was wrong and now I’m enjoying it almost daily J

And another story about zucchini…you buy it and it seems pretty small, but in school me and my friend managed to get it to grow to the size of 3 months old baby!!!

Benefits: Lowers cholesterol, helps to manage your weight, reduces risk of heart attack, helps to regulate blood sugar, reduces blood presser, protects the eyes, reduces inflammations in the joints, helps against acne, reduces puffy eyes, anti-ageing, promotes hair growth, and more.

Nutritional value (per 100 grams/ ¾ cup): only 17 calories, 3 grams carbs,1.5 grams protein, .5 gram fat, 1 grams fiber, high in vitamin b’s complex, high in vitamins A,C,E and the snaky K! Good amount of electrolytes, high in minerals like: calcium, phosphors and magnesium.

Oh and before I forget, you can also eat the blossom of it! Pretty!

And of course….recipes!

Zucchizza:

Ingredients:

·         1 round zucchini

·         2 tbsp Low fat shredded cheese

·         Your choice of topping

Direction:

1.       Cut the zucchini to half and empty his “meat”

2.       Fill it with your favourite topping

3.       Add the cheese on top

4.       Bake for 20 minutes on 375f/180C

Dana’s Mexican boat:

Ingredients:

·         5 long zucchini

·         Dana’s salsa (recipe here)

·         Low fat cream cheese

Direction:

1.       Cut the zucchini in half and empty the “meat”

2.       Bake it for 30 min on 375F/180c

3.       Take out on put salsa inside the zucchini

4.       Bake for 7 min.

5.       Take out on put ½ tbsp. cream cheese on each zucchini

6.       Bake for another 7 min.

Zucchini veggies burgers:

Ingredients

·         1 19 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini), squeezed of excess liquid

·         2 tbsp ground flax

·         1 garlic clove, minced

·         1 tbsp chilli powder

·         1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

·         1/4 tsp cumin

Direction:

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2.       Take 3/4 of black beans (about 1 1/2 cups) and add to a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher or back of a fork until it has formed a sticky paste.

3.       Add in remainder of black beans, grated zucchini, flax, garlic and spices and use hands to mix together.

4.       Form into 4 patties. Do not flatten too much. Should be thick.

5.       Place patties on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet and bake for 10 mins.

6.       Remove and flip. If patty breaks slightly, push back together using hands.

7.       Bake for another 10 minutes

Zucchini Raw pasta:

Ingredients

·         3 zucchini

·         Your choice of topping/sauce

Direction:

1.       Cut the zucchini small as possible

2.       Make sauce like you usually do for pasta

3.       Eat

Dana’s zucchini quiche:

Ingredients

·         4 zucchini shredded

·         1 cottage cheese

·         1 onion cut small

Direction:

1.       Add everything in a bowl and mix

2.       Put an oiled pan and bake for 40 min on 180C/375F

Zucchini chocolate balls:

Ingredients

·         2-3 zucchini shredded

·         ¼ cup cacao powder

·         ¼ cup stevia/ 6 dates pitted

·         ¼ cup nuts – optional

·         ¼ cup water

·         Sprinkles

Direction:

1.       Put everything in food processors

2.       Make small balls and cover in sprinkles

3.       Put in a fridge for 2 hours.

And that’s it! 6 recipes is good enough J

LOVE

Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2014